How To Benefit Spiritually From Pascha Week

By - H.H. Pope Shenouda III

How do we enjoy the most spiritual week of the year?

1. Our behavior inside and outside church:

It is very noticeable that many people during Passion Week act very differently inside church than they do outside church. Inside church… black curtains, sad hymns, solemn readings, and complete concentration on the suffering of Christ. However, outside of church, we often laugh, joke around, socialize, think and talk about many worldly issues. We lose all the spiritual depth that we gained inside church. Let us concentrate our thoughts, conversations, and meditations around the events of this Holy Week and the passion of our Savior.

2. Retreat:

During our regular fasting days, we put the words of the Bible before us, "Consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly". (Joel 1: 14) How much more then should we apply this commandment during Holy Week? This week should be characterized by solitude and retreat with God by staying away from idle discussions, various means of entertainment and pleasures. Reserve your time for God and to spiritual activities worthy of this week.

3. Follow the steps of Christ:

Meditate on the events of the week one by one, from Palm Sunday when Christ refused His worldly kingdom and the Jews gave up their hopes in Him, until they crucified and buried Him. On Palm Sunday, ask yourself: Is Christ King and Lord over everything in my life? Do I, like Christ, turn down worldly glory for spiritual and eternal glory? And during the "general funeral" afterwards, consider yourself attending your own funeral (because during this week the church will not hold funeral services). Also, when the church denounces Judas' betrayal with a kiss on the eve of Wednesday's Pascha, ask yourself in prayer, "How often, O Lord, have I betrayed You?" "How many times have I told You words of love in prayers, while my actions show the opposite and my heart is far away from You?"

4. Share in the fellowship of His suffering:

St. Paul said "That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His suffering, being conformed to His death". (Philippians 3:10)  Can we give ourselves an exercise this week to share in the fellowship of His suffering and be conformed to His death? Can we follow Him in His suffering and ascend with Him to the cross? Can we say with St. Paul "With Christ I have been crucified; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me" (Gal. 2:20). Therefore, in order for Christ to live in us, we have to carry our cross and follow Him. If you have a cross in your life, don't complain about it, but rather rejoice in it and bear it for Christ’s sake. "For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him but to suffer for His sake". (Phil. 1:29)

5. Asceticism:

Whoever puts the suffering of Christ before Him will not take any pleasure in eating, drinking or pampering the body. But in order to succeed in pursuing asceticism, we must satisfy our souls with spiritual food so that it may thrive and overcome physical hunger.

6. Spiritual readings:

Spiritual readings are also food for the soul. The church has organized for us a treasure of appropriate readings for every day of Holy Week. This consists of Gospel readings, Old Testament prophecies that correspond to the events of each day, spiritual explanations and sermons of the church fathers and on Holy Saturday (Apocalypse night) the church reads the entire book of Revelation.

7. Hymns:

The hymns of Passion Week are moving and full of spiritual depth. Also, Hymns, like reading, preserve thoughts from wandering and guides them in a spiritual direction.

8. Prayer:

Since the prayers of the Agpeya are not used during Holy Week, we are to substitute personal prayers in their place. This is in addition to the intensive prayers of the church asking the Lord, who bore the sins of the world and died for us, to forgive and have mercy upon us according to His great mercy.

The Nativity of St. John the Baptist

On this day, the church celebrates the nativity of St. John the Baptist. He whom none born of women was greater. He who kneeled to the Lord Christ while he was still in his mother's womb, and was worthy to lay his hand upon the head of the Son of God during Baptism. The Holy Bible said about him: "Now Elizabeth's full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her. Now so it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. And his mother answered and said, 'No; he shall be called John.' But they said to her, 'There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.' So they made signs to his father; what he would have him called. And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, 'His name is John.' And they all marveled. Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. He prophesied about his son, saying. 'you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways.'" (Luke 1:57-76)

When he was two years old, the wise men (Magi) came, Herod killed the children, some divulged about this child and the soldiers searched for him to kill him. Zechariah took the child and brought him to the sanctuary, laid him on the altar and told the soldiers, "I have received him from this place". The angel of the Lord caught up the child and brought him to the desert of Ziphana, so the soldiers became enraged and they killed his father Zechariah. For this reason the Lord had said to the Jews: "That on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar." (Matthew 23:35) So the child John grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts more than twenty years living an angelic life, till the day of his manifestation to Israel. (Luke 1:80)

And John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. (Matthew 3:4) He lived in the wilderness persevering in prayers and asceticism, until the Lord ordered him, to fulfill the prophesies, to preach to the people about the coming of the Savior of the World. For he was sent from God, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. (John 1:6-8)

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, Annas and Caiaphas being high priests, the Word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD, make His paths straight. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; and the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.' " (Luke 3:1-6)

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" (Matthew 3:1-2)

Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. (Matthew 3:5-6)

While the people were waiting, and thinking in their hearts about John if he was the Christ, John answered, saying to them all, "I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire." (Luke 3:16-17)

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I have need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?" But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed Him. Then Jesus, when He had been baptized, came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:13-17) (Luke 3:20-22)

Then John's disciples came to him and said, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified; behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!" John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.' He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true. For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." (John 3:26-36)

But when John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers! Who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. (Matthew 3:7-10) (Luke 3:7-9)

When Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great, married Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, against all the Laws, St. John the Baptist came to him. He admonished him for his transgression and all the evil things that he was doing. So Herod ordered, according to the instigation of Herodias the adulterer, to seize John, chain him and imprison him in the fortress called Macronda.

John remained in this jail for a year, without Herod being able to slay him. His disciples visited their teacher, frequently and courageously, in prison. As he did not neglect his duties toward them, proving to them that Jesus was the expected Christ. When the news of the wonders that our Savior did noised everywhere, John wanted his disciples to be eye witnesses to the wonders of Christ, to be confirmed in their faith in him.

While he was in prison, John sent two of his disciples to Christ, who said to Him, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?" Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind receive their sight and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me." (Matthew 11:2-6)

As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John, "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. For this is he of whom it is written: 'Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You.' Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear! But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, and saying: 'We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; we mourned to you, And you did not lament.' For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a gluttonous man and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' But wisdom is justified by her children." (Matthew 11:7-19)

The Lord Christ, to Whom is the Glory, also said about John the Baptist: "He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light." (John 5:35)

Herodias desired to get rid of John the Baptist, so she executed her scheme during the celebration of Herod's birthday.

When Herod's birthday was celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod. Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. So she, having been prompted by her mother, said, "Give me John the Baptist's head here on a platter." And the king was sorry; nevertheless, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him at the table, he commanded it to be given to her. So he sent and had John beheaded in prison. And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. Then his disciples came and took away the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus. When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart. (Matthew 14:2-13) The joy of the people celebrating Herod's birthday turned into sorrow. As of the head, it flew up from their hands and was crying out saying: "It is not right for you to take your brother's wife." The martyrdom of St. John took place at the end of the thirty-first or at the beginning of the thirty-second year of the Christ. The life of this Saint was like that of the angels in purity. He was filled with the Holy Spirit while he was in his mother's womb, and was martyred for his witnessing to the truth.

May his prayers be with us and Glory be to God forever. Amen.

Do Not Give Up Hope

Since the holy God has promised those who hope in Him a means of escape from every affliction, we, even if we have been cut off in the midst of the seas of evils and are racked by the mighty waves stirred up against us by the spirits of wickedness, nevertheless endure in Christ who strengthens us.

We have not slackened the intensity of our zeal for the churches, nor do we, as in a storm when the waves rise high, expect destruction.

We still hold fast to our earnest endeavour as much as is possible, sensible of the fact that he who was swallowed by the whale was considered deserving of safety because he did not despair of his life but cried out to the Lord.

So then, we ourselves, having reached the uttermost limit of evils, do not give up our hope in the Lord but watch and see His help on all sides.

St Basil The Great

The Grace of God

“If you see a man who has sinned and you do not pity him, the grace of God will leave you. Whoever curses bad people, and does not pray for them, will never come to know the grace of God.”

~ St. Silouan the Athonite 

Contrite Heart

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Matthew 5: 13 - 14

Let us acquire a contrite heart, a soul humbled in mind, and a heart that by means of tears and repentance is pure from every stain and defilement of sin.

So shall we too be found worthy in due time quickly to rise to such heights that even hear and now we may see and enjoy the ineffable blessings of the divine light, if not perfectly, at least in part, and to the extent to which we are able.

So shall we both unite ourselves to God, and God will be united to us. To those who come near us we shall become 'light' and 'salt' (Matthew 5: 13 - 14) to their great benefit in Christ Jesus our Lord.

St. Symeon the New Theologian

St. George The Prince of Martyrs

ST. GEORGE

St. George was born about 280 A.D. of a Christian family that was wealthy and of noble origin, in the city of Capadocia, a city of the Eastern Empire, in Asia Minor.

He followed the usual career of young nobleman and joined the Roman army, where his ability and charm brought him quick promotion. The Emperor heard about him and as a result made him a tribune or an officer in the Imperial Guard.

One story says that he was a friend of Constantine another officer, who later became the first Christian emperor. The legend says that St. George came with Constantine to Britain and visited some holy places as Glastonbury and Caerleon. On his return to Nicomedia, the capital of the Eastern Empire where Diocletian settled, he met the fierce storm of persecution.

Diocletian gave orders for the issue of a formal edict against the Christians on February 23, in the year 303 A.D., being the feast of Termhlalia.

The provisions of this edict which was published on the next day in the market place, were as follows: "All churches should be levelled to the ground. All sacred books to be burned. All Christians who hold any honorable rank are not only to be degraded, but to be deprived of civil rights. Also, All Christians who are not officials are to be reduced to slavery".

In great courage, the young man George, pushed his way through the market place to read the proclamation, and then in front of the awe-stricken crown, he deliberately tore down the Imperial edict and threw it away. Consequently he was arrested and brought to the presence of Diocletian.

Some historians believe that St. George was not the young man who tore the proclamation, but as the edict was proclaimed and the great church in Nicomedia was ransacked and destroyed by the pretorian guard, he liberated his slaves, distributed all his wealth to the poor and prepared himself for martyrdom. he entered Diocletian's palace and rebuked him for his behaviour against the Christians.

The Emperor tried to seduce him by promises that he would be granted a higher position in the Empire. But as these promises failed to attract him, the Emperor began to threaten him with unbearable tortures that he will inflict on him. Lastly he put him in prison.

ST. GEORGE'S CHASTITY

Diocletian knew that nothing, except sin, could destroy the strength, and demolish the integrity of this Saint. Thus he arranged for a very beautiful woman to spend the night with him in prison and try to debauch him. St. George who could only look forward to heavenly joy, began to pray and within a short while he managed to swing her heart to the christian faith. Soon she seriously began to inquire about salvation, and by the morning she declared that she found her true Bridegroom Jesus Christ. With great courage she announced her Christianity to the emperor and his men, and joined the other saintly martyrs.

ST. GEORGE'S SUFFERING 

His body was torn by a special instrument that had metallic teeth, and our Lord Jesus rose him, after his death and many pagans were converted. He was put in an active lime, and thill water was poured on it. Again the Lord returned him back to life. The emperor became very agitated, imagining that the Saint was using magic. He called his top magician, Athanasius and requested him to prepare a lethal poison to kill St. George. The Saint signed over the cup with the sign of the cross before drinking it, of course no harm came to him. The Emperor's councillors informed him that St. George's magic was in fact contained in the sign of the Cross itself. Another cup was also given to the Saint, but this time with his hands tied behind his back. The Saint signed it by his head saying: "shall I drink it from here or here or here or here!!!"

During all these tortures, although the Saint had enough pain and suffering of his own, but nevertheless kept on talking to Diocletian about the powers of the Christian faith. At the end the Emperor asked him if he could raise a dead man he knew of. St. George prayed to our Lord and the dead man came back to life. The result of that was the conversion of both the dead man and the magician as well as many others. They all were martyred.

IN THE EMPEROR'S PALACE

When all methods failed to incite St. George, the Emperor invited him in his palace to entertain him. He offered him an appointment as a prince if he only sacrificed once to the idols. The Saint replied "Tomorrow you will see the powers of your gods"

At the palace, St. George met Empress Alexandra, who had a fair idea about the Saint's God. She spoke with him, but the conversation quickly changed its course and the Saint began to preach to her about Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world.

On the following day many people went to the temple to witness St. George's sacrifice to the idols. The Saint stretched his hands, raised his eyes to Heaven.. and in a moment, the idols collapsed and fell to the ground!!. The crowds shouted "we believe in George's God" At this, the Emperor and his men put an end to the lives of the new Christians, St. George, and Empress Alexandra in 23 Baramouda, 303 A.D.

St. George was buried in his mother's home that was situated on the seashore at Lydda, in Palestine. Before long his fame was spread all over the world. King Constantine, who took over after Diocletian, considered that St. George was the true model of the young christian man, and ordered a church to be built over his grave. In Egypt, the Copts call him, "The Prince of Martyrs", and built over 200 churches named after him. Moreover he is a personal friend of the majority of the Copts, who believe in the power of his prayers for them. The Greeks call him "the Great Martyr".

HIS FIGHT WITH THE DRAGON

Legends grew up about this Saint, but the most famous one is about his fight with the dragon, which was documented in a book called "the Golden legend" by James de Voragine, a bishop of Genoa. It happened when St. George was once stationed with the Roman army near Salone in Libya, North Africa. In that area a Dragon which was described as a huge crocodile with scaled wings, had eaten so many of the country folks around Salone that the remaining lot fled to the town and took shelter behind its walls. There, the dragon was positioned outside the city gates, and nobody could get in or out. Moreover its poisonous breath was so lethal that as it snored over the city wall, people could actually drop dead in the nearby area. In order to keep the beast away from the walls, two sheep were tethered every day, some distance away. The system worked fine until they ran out of sheep and the miserable people could not think of any other alternative but to sacrifice one child everyday.

One day the lot fell on the king's daughter, Sabra, a girl of fourteen. sometimes called Cleodolinda. Dressed in her most splendid clothes, as for her wedding, the poor girl was taken outside the city walls. While she was waiting for the dragon, weeping, George the tribune came up mounting his white horse. On hearing the story he decided to put an end to that tragedy, and decided to kill the dragon.

"Fair girl" he said, "do not be afraid for I will save your life with the aid of my Lord Jesus Christ". When the dragon appeared George the hero got engaged with the wild beast in a great combat. Finally he managed to wound it with his lance so badly that it could fight no more. Now the two of them tied a rope around its neck, and dragged it to the town. There in the market place, George cut off its head in front of all the cheering habitants, and the people of the whole town were baptized and became Christians.

GOD - The Unity of God

The Father of all is far removed from the emotions and passions which are common to men. He is simple, uncompounded, without diversity of parts; wholly identical and consistent; since he is all understanding, all spirit, all thought, all hearing, all seeing, all light, and the whole source of all that is good. 

It is best for us to begin with the first and greatest principle, that is with God the Creator … and to show that there is nothing above him or beyond him. It was of his own decision and free act that he made all things, not moved by anything; since he is the only God, the only Lord, the Only Creator, the only Father, the only Sovereign, and it is he who bestows existence on all things.

How could there be any other Totality beyond him: or another Principle or Power or another God? For God who is the totality of all these must needs include all things in his infinite being, while he himself cannot be included by any other thing. If there is anything outside him he is then not the totality of all things, nor does he contain all things.  

 ~ St. Irenaeus of Lyons  

Fathers Sayings - Abba John The Dwarf

Abba Poemen said of Abba John the Dwarf that he had prayed God to take his passions away from him so that he might become free from care.


He went and told an old man this: ‘I find myself in peace, without an enemy,’ he said. The old man said to him, ‘Go, beseech God to stir up warfare so that you may regain the affliction and humility that you used to have, for it is by warfare that the soul makes progress.’


So he besought God and when warfare came, he no longer prayed that it might be taken away, but said, ‘Lord, give me strength for the fight.’

Verses and Fathers Sayings

You, O LORD, are our Father; Our
Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name.
(Isa. 63: 16)



Blessed is he, who forgot the talk
of the world by Your talk to him?
As by You, his needs are consummated!
....
You are his Sun and his daylight?
By Your light, he can see the hidden things!
You are the Father? His Father!
In him, You have given the Spirit of Your Son?
And this Spirit gave him the daring seek from
You everything? the way a son seeks from his father!
With You, he talks all the time?
As he knows other father but You.

(St. John Saba)

Blessed Be Your Burial Lord Jesus

Blessed Be Your Burial Lord Jesus...

.. which assured us that You are Truly Human and Truly Divine for by Your Free Will You Rested in the grave to Make it a place of rest to all who believe in You.
(John: 10:18)

Blessed Be Your Burial Lord Jesus...
.. which declared to us that You do not Disdain to Accept our condemnation to change our life and our destiny to Raise us from dust to heavenly dwelling
(Phil:2:7-8).

Blessed Be Your Burial Lord Jesus...
.. which Has Made the grave no longer a place of darkness but full of the Light of Your Glorified Resurrection, for Accepting our burial to Release us from the terror of death
(1Corinthians:15:20-22)

Blessed Be Your Burial Lord Jesus...
..which Has Proved Your Unconditional Love for You Have Assumed our birth, our infancy, maturity, death and the grave because there is no limits to your Ministry of Salvation.
(John:3:16-19)

Blessed Be Your Burial Lord Jesus...
.. because You Are like a fruitful tree which gives its fruits in due season. Your Cross Produced Your Burial and Your Burial Produced Your Resurrection and Your Resurrection Produced Incorruptibility and Glory Everlasting.
(Gen:3:22; John:15:1-8 & Rev:22:2).

Blessed Be Your Burial Lord Jesus...
.. which Runs like a River of Living Water to Water every grave till the time appointed for the resurrection of all us.
(John: 4:14 & 7:38)

Blessed Be Your Burial Lord Jesus...
.. because Your Body was buried wounded but emerged from the grave New and Incorruptible.
( Ps: 16:10).

Blessed Be Your Burial Lord Jesus...
.. which we receive in our baptism as a seal this seals our life in sickness and in danger and blossoms which the hope in eternal life.
(2 Corinthians 1:22 & Ephesians 1:13)

Blessed Be Your Burial Lord Jesus...
 .. which Gives our post baptismal anointing the shining light of the life to come. There in the sign of the Cross which the holy Oil, we see the birth of new life that breaks like the light of day(Matthew:13-17 & John::5-7)

Blessed Be Your Burial Lord Jesus...
.. which we taste in the great mystery when we eat Your Holy Body and drink Your Precious Blood to participate in the eternal joy of your submission to death to change our death to life. The shroud of Your Burial spread the fragrance of Your Immortality
(John:6:35 & 53-58).

Blessed Be Your Burial Lord Jesus...
.. which Made You Laid in the grave like all the dead, I wonder at the astonishment of the Angels and the Grief of the Father and the Endurance of the Holy Spirit. But you Creator of life Took the curse of death which we embraced to change it to restful time before we rise up in the Glory of Your Resurrection.
(Luke:24:4-7)

Blessed Be Your Burial Lord Jesus...
.. for at  Your Baptism You Were Anointed by the Lord the Giver of life to Give us a share in Your Life and when You Were Buried in the grave your anointing carried the seal of life by which your body was sealed to give us the same seal of life
(Romans:6:3-14).

Quoted with adaptation-Author Unknown

 

The Power of the Resurrection and the Joy and Evangelism of the Martyrs

The Power of the Resurrection and the Joy and Evangelism of the Martyrs
H.G. Bishop Serapion

Today we rejoice as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, God, and Saviour Jesus Christ, Who by His death trampled down death, and bestowed eternal life upon those in the tomb.

At the beginning of this year, the Church offered a group of righteous martyrs in Nag Hammadi. We pray that God may repose their pure souls in the Paradise of Joy. We also pray for their families that God may grant them the joy of the Resurrection and the heavenly consolation. We also pray for their murderers so that God may open their eyes and lead them to the way of truth. Today, as we remember the victims of Nag Hammadi, it is not to mourn the viciousness of the crime and the injustice that is falling on our brothers and sisters the Christians there, but rather to see our martyrs through the light of the power of the resurrection of our Living Christ

The resurrection of Christ is a great power. It is one that changes sadness to joy. A power that changes suffering for the sake of Christ to joy in the fellowship of His suffering. It is a power that changes the blood of the martyrs to become the seeds for the growth of the Church. St Paul the Apostle, who was martyred for the name of Christ, experienced the power of the resurrection in his life and said, “that I may know Him and power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.” (Phil 3: 10) St Paul called all those, who struggle or are persecuted for the sake of Christ, to look upwards to Christ, “..let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb 12: 1-2)

The Power of Christ’s Resurrection Changed Martyrdom in Christianity to Joy and Evangelism

The martyrs rejoiced in martyrdom, because through Christ’s death and resurrection, He defeated death. St Athanasius said, “Before the divine sojourn of the Saviour, even the holiest of men were afraid of death, and mourned the dead as those who perish. But now that the Saviour has raised His body, death is no longer terrible, but all those who believe in Christ tread it underfoot as nothing, and prefer to die rather than to deny their faith in Christ, knowing full well that when they die they do not perish, but live indeed, and become incorruptible through the resurrection.”

St Stephen the Protomartyr received his persecutors with an angelic face. Rather than look at their faces full of evil, instead “he being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7: 55) Because his heart was full of joy and peace, he did not curse those who stoned him, but asked for their forgiveness. With the martyrdom of St Stephen, a great persecution fell on the Church in Jerusalem and many were scattered in Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Did the Church weaken? Did evangelism stop? Actually, what happened was the opposite, “those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.” (Acts 8:4)

St Ignatius of Antioch, who was martyred in 108AD when Emperor Trajan ordered that he be presented to the fierce animals in Rome, was joyful. And when the soldiers came to bind him, he kneeled down and cried with a joyful voice, “I thank you, O Master Lord, for You granted me the honour of loving You fully and permitted me to be bound in iron chains like Your apostle Paul.” On the way to Rome, he wrote a letter to the Christians in Rome expressing his joy and desire to present himself as a sacrifice to God on the altar of divine love, and he begged them not to interfere, because of their love for him, and stop the imperial decision to throw him to the wild beasts. Here are a few words of what St Ignatius said, “The truth is, I am afraid it is your love that will do me wrong. For you, of course, it is easy to achieve your object; but for me it is difficult to win my way to God, should you prevent my martyrdom …Grant me no more than that you let my blood be spilled in sacrifice to God, while yet there is an altar ready…How glorious it is to leave this world so I may rise again in His presence!” When St Ignatius reached Rome, he kneeled down and asked Christ to lift the persecution from the churches. Then they released two lions, which devoured him immediately.

St Justin Martyr witnessed that martyrdom is evangelism and said, “You can clearly see that when we are beheaded, crucified, thrown to the wild beasts, bound in chains, thrown in fire, or any other means of torture, we don’t relent in our faith. The more we face these sufferings, the more people become Christians and join our faith in the name of Jesus Christ” The martyrs saw that this was a fulfilment of our Lord Jesus Christ’s saying, “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it produces much grain.” (John 12:24) St Augustine reflected on our Lord Jesus Christ’s saying to His disciples, “Behold, I send you as lambs among wolves.” (Luke 10:3) and said, “There was a flock of wolves and a few lambs. When the many wolves preyed upon the few lambs, the wolves changed to lambs.”

My Beloved Brothers and Sisters,

Let us rejoice today in the power of the resurrection of our Good Saviour and Living Christ

Let us rejoice with the joyful martyrs as they meet the Resurrected Christ

Let us pray that God may grant to enlighten us with His resurrection so we may be ready to carry the cross and may have a fellowship in His suffering.

Let us pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters that God may strengthen their faith and sustain them in their struggle.

Let us pray for the peace of the One, holy, catholic, and Apostolic Church.

Let us pray for our beloved father and vigilant shepherd, H.H. Pope Shenouda III that God may keep him for many years and give him health and strength.



His Grace Bishop Serapion is Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles (www.lacopts.org)

WATANI International - 4 April 2010 - 26 Baramhat (Parmhat) 1726 (Coptic Calendar) - 19 Rabie al-Akhar 1431 (Arabian Calendar) - Year 10 - Issue 477.
WATANI - 4 April 2010 - 26 Baramhat (Parmhat) 1726 (Coptic Calendar) - 1st Issue Year 52 - No. 2519 - 2nd Issue Year 9 No. 485
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Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!

Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!
Rejoicing in Hope (Romans 12:12)
H.G. Bishop Serapion

Today, we rejoice in hope as we celebrate the Glorious Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In the midst of today’s culture of despair, which is prevalent throughout the world, we as Christians nonetheless rejoice in hope. The Feast of the Resurrection is a source of everlasting joy and hope in the midst of an economic recession, unemployment, financial and social instability, and fear.
One of the great teachers of the Church, St Gregory the Theologian, guides our reflections and meditations on the message of joy and hope in this, the Feast of feasts and the Festival of festivals. We celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection itself, not as an event still hoped for, but as one that has already occurred, uniting the world to itself.
The Feast of the Resurrection is the feast of our salvation, the feast of our liberation, the feast of our reconciliation, and the feast of our being like Christ.

The Feast of Our Salvation
We see how the Feast of the Resurrection is the feast of our salvation in this meditation from St. Gregory:
Today salvation has come to the world, to things visible and to things invisible.
Christ is risen from the dead; rise with Him. Christ has returned to Himself; return. Christ is freed from the tomb; be freed from the bonds of sin.
The gates of Hades are opened and death is destroyed, and the old Adam is put aside and the new is fulfilled. If anyone in Christ is a new creation, be made new.

The Feast of Our Liberation
St Gregory teaches us that the Feast of the Resurrection is the feast of our liberation from the slavery of sin when he says:
Today we have totally escaped Egypt and Pharaoh, and we have been freed from the clay and the brick-making. And nobody hinders us from celebrating a feast of exodus for the Lord our God and keeping feast “not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:8).

The Feast of Our Reconciliation
St Gregory further teaches us that the Feast of the Resurrection is the feast of our reconciliation with one another:
Let us be made brilliant by the Feast and embrace each other. Let us call brothers even those who hate us, and much more those who have done everything out of love for us. Let us concede all things to the Resurrection. Let us grant pardon to each other.

The Feast of Our Becoming Like Christ
Finally, St Gregory shows us that the Feast of the Resurrection is the feast of our becoming like Christ when he says, “Let us become like Christ, since Christ also became like us.” In another passage, he offers the following beautiful meditation:
Yesterday I was crucified with Christ,
Today I am glorified with Him.
Yesterday I died with Him,
Today I am made alive with Him.
Yesterday I was buried with Him,
Today I rise with Him.
But let us make an offering to the One who died and rose again for us.
Let us offer our own selves, the possession most precious to God.
My beloved, let us pray that our Lord may “fill our hearts with joy and gladness, that we, too, having sufficiency in everything always, may abound in every good deed.”
Let us pray for the peace of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

His Grace Bishop Serapion is Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles (www.lacopts.org)


WATANI International - 19 April 2009 - 11 Baramouda 1725 (Coptic Calendar) - Year 9 - Issue 427.
WATANI - 19 April 2009 - 11 Baramouda 1725 (Coptic Calendar) - 1st Issue Year 51 - No. 2469 - 2nd Issue Year 9 No. 435
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